page_title: 2,500-year celebration of the Persian Empire
section_title: Tent City of Persepolis
hierarchical_section_title: 2,500-year celebration of the Persian Empire / Tent City of Persepolis
caption_attribution_description: English: Tent of the tent city at Persepolis, 2.500 celebration of Iranian Monarchy.
context_page_description: The 2,500-year celebration of the Persian Empire, officially known as the 2,500th Year of the Foundation of the Imperial State of Iran, consisted of an elaborate set of festivities that took place on 12–16 October 1971 to celebrate the anniversary of the founding of the Imperial State of Iran and the Achaemenid Empire by Cyrus the Great. The intent of the celebration was to demonstrate Iran's ancient civilization and history and to showcase its contemporary advances under His Imperial Majesty Mohammad Reza Shah, the last Shah of Iran.
  Some later historians came to think that this excess contributed to events that resulted in the Iranian Revolution and eventual replacement of the Persian monarchy with an Islamic republic under the Grand Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the leader of the revolution, who was supported by a wide range of people, including various leftist and Islamist organizations, and student movements. The event has been described as the most expensive party ever held.
context_section_description: The Tent City (also called Golden City) was planned by the Parisian interior-design firm of Maison Jansen on 160 acres (0.65 km²). They referred to the meeting between Francis I of France and Henry VIII of England at the Field of the Cloth of Gold in 1520. Fifty 'tents' (prefabricated luxury apartments with traditional Persian tent-cloth surrounds) were arranged in a star pattern around a central fountain. Numerous trees were planted around them in the desert, to recreate how ancient Persepolis would have looked. Each tent was provided with direct telephone and telex connections for attendees to their respective countries. The entire celebration was televised to the world by way of a satellite connection from the site.
  The large Tent of Honor was designed for the reception of the dignitaries. The Banqueting Hall was the largest structure and measured 68 by 24 meters. The tent site was surrounded by gardens of trees and other plants flown in from France and adjacent to the ruins of Persepolis. Catering services were provided by Maxim's de Paris, which closed its restaurant in Paris for almost two weeks to provide for the glittering celebrations. Legendary hotelier Max Blouet came out of retirement to supervise the banquet. Lanvin designed the uniforms of the Imperial Household. 250 red Mercedes-Benz limousines were used to chauffeur guests from the airport and back. The dinnerware was created using Limoges porcelain and linen by Porthault.
caption: Tent in Persepolis in 1971.
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